WALTHER KöNIG, KöLN

Published by Walther König, Köln.Edited and with introduction by Harald Falckenberg, Stefan Zweifel. Text by Max Dax, Dieter Meier.

Performance artist, sculptor, prankster, restauranteur, farmer, professional poker player and frontman of the 1980s Swiss electronic pop duo Yello, Dieter Meier (born 1945) brings a contagious sense of fun and lightness to all of his diverse activities. At Documenta 5, in 1972, Meier installed a commemorative plaque at the Kassel train station that read: “On 23 March 1994, from 3 to 4 pm, Dieter Meier will stand on this plaque.” He honored the promise, and in the interim produced enough bodies of work for at least five artists: ephemeral junk sculptures, street performances, films and videos, books and, most famously, music, as one half of Yello. With international top ten singles such as “The Race” and “Oh Yeah,” Yello has been one of the most influential and widely sampled electronica groups of the 1980s. This spectacular monograph celebrates Meier’s many lives, from the late 1960s to the present, and includes a DVD of his early films, plus Yello music videos.